Brighton vs Newcastle United was a story of three penalties.
Eddie Howe’s side were awarded three penalties in the second half, but only one of them stood.
That was the third and final one, as Alexander Isak converted from the spot to make it Brighton 1 Newcastle United 1 after a handball in the box.
The Magpies grabbed a deserved point, after Yankuba Minteh scored the opener. He found the net against his former club for the second time this season.
The other two penalties were correctly overturned.
The first was a foul on Anthony Gordon, but the incident was actually outside the box.
The second was given for a foul on Joe Willock by Jan Paul van Hecke, with Craig Pawson pointing to the spot. However, VAR intervened and instructed Pawson to look again. Upon closer inspection, the penalty was revoked and Willock was booked for a dive.
Joe Willock dive described as ‘cheeky’
It was absolutely the correct decision, with Willock hitting the deck without being touched.
That was the view of Daniel Sturridge, who told Sky Sports Premier League that what Willock did was ‘cheeky’.
“He’s been a bit cheeky, trying to win his team a penalty,” he said.
“Absolutely no contact there.”
However, Roy Keane appeared to take issue with Sturridge’s description of the incident.
The former Manchester United midfielder interrupted: “Cheating, cheeky…”
Sturridge replied: “In that moment as an attacker, you are playing for the penalty. You’re trying to get a little bit of contact and hope that you can win your team a penalty. He should have gone to try and actually make the connection on the ball and try to continue the action as opposed to throwing himself over.”
Willock struggles to make Newcastle United impact
Ahead of the game against Brighton, Eddie Howe praised Willock.
The Newcastle United manager outlined the £25million man’s talents, insisting that he was a like-for-like replacement for the injured Joelinton.
However, Willock’s performance against Brighton will have failed to convince Toon fans that he should be a starter for the remainder of the season.
The 25-year-old did enjoy some bright moments, but lacked quality in the final third. All the while, Lewis Miley and Sean Longstaff remained on the bench.
While Sturridge may have thought that Willock was being cheeky in trying to win a penalty, it was extremely disappointing to see such a blatant dive from a Newcastle United player.
Willock was rightly booked, and then substituted just moments later.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
